Math Biology Seminar: Cole Zmurchok

Flocks of birds, schools of fish, and insect swarms provide examples of animals exhibiting collective behaviour. Models of collective behaviour connect mechanisms and behavioural rules to group-level pattern formation. In this presentation, direction-dependent communication mechanisms are incorporated into a one-dimensional individual-based model (IBM) of collective behaviour. The IBM is formulated in terms of the three social interaction forces: repulsion, alignment, and attraction, and includes information regarding conspecifics’ direction of travel. The IBM produces a variety of complex spatial patterns and adding density-dependent movement speed to the IBM results in splitting and merging patterns. This suggests the importance of directional communication in collective behaviour.